Rural & Bush Alaska
RSSRural & Bush Alaska covers life in the state's roadless and off-grid villages, reached only by air, water or snow machine. It takes in fuel and energy costs, rural health funding, school staffing, water and sewer infrastructure, and food security in these communities.
Places and organizations in this news
Numbers are stories in the last 30 days.
Have a story about Rural & Bush Alaska? Send a tip
August 2026
The feds are tightening subsidies for flights to small towns, but Alaska is exempt by name
The feds are tightening flight subsidies for small towns everywhere but Alaska, which Congress exempted by name because the flights there are lifelines.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
Alaska issues intent to award $30 million to 37 rural health projects
Alaska issued notices of intent Friday to award $30 million to 37 rural health projects, with recipients required to spend funds by June 30, 2027.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Most of Alaska's $272M rural health award remains unawarded
Alaska won a $272.2 million federal health award and nearly 1,800 applied, but most is still unawarded — and unspent funds risk being clawed back.
by Melinda Communities.News3mo ago2 min read
In Ouzinkie, one lake is water and power, so the village is building solar
In Ouzinkie, the same lake is both drinking water and power — so the island village is building solar and batteries to stop rationing one against the other.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
A UAF fix for the battery-and-generator clash in village grids
When villages add batteries to diesel plants, the two can 'fight' and destabilize the grid — a UAF researcher is testing a fix to cut rural diesel use.
by Melinda Communities.News3mo ago2 min read
UAA trains rural school workers to become teachers without leaving home
A UAA apprenticeship lets rural school workers become licensed teachers without leaving home, one answer to out-migration, though results aren't yet shown.
by Melinda Communities.News3mo ago1 min read
Alaska makes its first awards under a $272 million rural health program
Alaska is making its first awards under a $272 million federal rural health program, $4.5 million to 19 projects, with more coming each Friday. Demand hit $2.5 billion.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
A shipping rule eases road transport, but not for off-road Alaska
Ship a fridge of flammable gas by truck? No permit needed. Ship it to a village reachable only by floatplane? Pull up a chair, it's permit by permit.
by Maggie AlaskaNewsadded 3mo ago1 min read
More from Rural & Bush Alaska
A war half a world away is about to freeze into rural Alaska's winter fuel bills
Rural Alaska buys a year of fuel in one summer barge delivery, so the Iran-driven price spike will lock into winter bills — with heating fuel hitting $15/gallon in some villages and the state's main subsidy covering none of it.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3mo ago4 min readFrom 
July 2026
Unalakleet's new greenhouse sends its first harvest to the elders
Unalakleet's new greenhouse is sending its first harvest to village elders — and the schoolkids who named the potatoes will be back in fall to pick them.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
AVCP chief executive presents on Arctic typhoons as Inuit assembly closes in Iqaluit
AVCP's CEO presented on Arctic typhoons at an Inuit assembly in Iqaluit, highlighting how Typhoon Halong destroyed homes and displaced hundreds in Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta villages in October 2025.
by Maggie AlaskaNewsadded 3mo ago2 min read
A village's water grant score can hinge on whether the clerk took a class
A free state course Aug. 3–11 can boost a village's water and sewer grant scores — clerk training counts for up to 40% of project points. Sign up by July 31.
by Alaska News3mo ago1 min read
One new rural Alaska prosecutor, against deep tribal-justice cuts
The DOJ is adding one rural Alaska prosecutor while proposing to cut the budgets that fund tribal police and victim services by roughly a quarter.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 3mo ago2 min read
Alaska's unemployment map tracks one thing: the road system
Alaska unemployment ran 2.5% in Denali and 16.1% in Kusilvak this May. The split tracks one thing almost perfectly: whether a road reaches you.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Kreiss-Tomkins documents $20 milk, absent law enforcement in 11 Yukon River villages
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins documented $20 milk, $12 gas, scarce law enforcement, and collapsed salmon runs across 11 Yukon River villages in a four-day boat tour.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Murkowski bill targets Alaska's rural health shortage with immigrant credential grants
Sen. Murkowski introduced a bill to fund grants helping internationally trained health professionals already in the U.S. get licensed and work in Alaska's rural clinics and hospitals.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
About Rural & Bush Alaska
Rural and Bush Alaska takes in life in the state's roadless and off grid villages, reached only by air, water or snow machine. It covers fuel and energy costs, health care, water and sewer systems, transportation and food security in these communities.
Diesel fuel delivered by barge powers and heats many villages, and tribes and utilities pursue hydro, solar and batteries to cut that cost. Rural health funding under the federal Rural Health Transformation Program, federally subsidized air service, mobile coverage and water system repairs are questions that recur.
Tribal governments, regional health organizations, the University of Alaska Fairbanks and state and federal agencies all fund or run services in these communities. Members of Congress propose programs aimed at rural shortages, such as maternity care and the credentials of health workers trained abroad.
More from Rural & Bush Alaska
Alaska's diesel-to-renewables fund reopens, but the money reaches few
Alaska's main fund for getting rural communities off diesel just reopened — with room for maybe nine of the many that'll apply.
by Maggie AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
Alaska doubles bulk fuel loan cap to $1.5 million for rural communities
Alaska doubled the bulk fuel loan cap to $1.5 million for rural communities starting July 3, helping villages and fuel retailers cover winter heating oil purchases before customer payments arrive.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
Bush plane tips on Copper River sandbar during fishwheel check; no injuries
A bush plane tipped on a Copper River sandbar Friday while landing to check a fishwheel, sustaining minor damage with no injuries.
by Bill AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
An Alaska village will own its solar power — and sell it back to the utility
A state grant puts village-owned solar and batteries in Allakaket, letting it sell power to its utility instead of buying diesel. A second grant expands a hydro project.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
June 2026
Veterinary care reaches rural Alaska, where dog-bite rates run high
Veterinary care is coming to about 80 rural Alaska tribal communities July 1, where Alaska Native children are hospitalized for dog bites at about twice the U.S. rate.
by Maggie AlaskaNewsadded 4mo ago1 min read
A remote Kodiak village tries tp fix its water
Karluk — a village 88 miles from Kodiak city, ringed by refuge — is replacing its failing water system, closing a gap most of America never has to think about.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
A Plan to Reopen Rural Alaska's Armories — On Paper
Sullivan's bill to reopen rural Alaska's shuttered armories cleared committee — but for now it orders a study, and the price of running bases in roadless villages is the unanswered question.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
Alaska rural health asks for $2.5B; federal program has $272M to give in this cycle
Alaska rural health: $2.5 billion in requests, $272 million available. The gap is the story.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 4mo ago2 min read
Murkowski: War-price fuel barges lock rural Alaska into costly winter
Rural Alaska villages are paying $9 to $14 a gallon for fuel locked in at peak war prices and cannot wait for global prices to fall, Senator Murkowski warned
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 4mo ago2 min read
Alaska releases June summer meal bulletin with fraud warning
Alaska's Department of Education released a June bulletin warning that fraud in the state's rural summer meal program, which ships food to roadless communities, undermines public confidence and jeopardizes service to children who need it most.
by Walter AlaskaNews5mo ago1 min read
May 2026
Nenana pioneers Alaska's first biochar boiler for municipal heating
Nenana installed Alaska's first biochar boiler for municipal heating, burning wood chips and waste at 2,000 degrees, but a city official warned the system demands daily monitoring and every-other-day refills, not a hands-off solution like oil heat.
by Bill AlaskaNews5mo ago2 min read
Alaska's Off-Grid Communities Face Rising Diesel Costs as Governor Promotes Solar Alternative
Alaska Governor Dunleavy urged the state's 220-plus off-grid communities to adopt solar power paired with batteries and diesel backup to cut fuel costs as diesel prices rise for winter orders.
by Maggie AlaskaNews5mo ago2 min read
Unalaska Council meets as city manages $50M fund, air travel crisis
Unalaska City Council meets Tuesday to manage a $50 million sustainability fund and address infrastructure needs in the remote Aleutian Islands fishing hub.
by Alaska News6mo ago1 min readRural Alaska faces fuel crisis as prices surge, shortages loom
Rural Alaska fuel prices could double this year, with gas hitting $17.50 per gallon in some villages and diesel potentially reaching $6 per gallon, threatening heating and power during winter.
by Alaska News6mo ago2 min readFrom 
